NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, March 2, 1853.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 791, 2 March 1853, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, March 2, 1853.

In another part of oar present number will be found a Proclamation by his Excellency the Go-vernor-in-Chief by which, under the provisions of the New Zealand Constitutional Act.-tke colony of Netr Zealand is divided into six Provinces, and the former division of New Zealand into the two Provinces of New Ulster and New Munster is virtually done away with, and becomes a matter of history ; since as Si/ John Pakington observes " the almost necessary effect of this subdivision into six Provinces, when effected, will be to supersede the present division into two Provinces, and along 1 with it, the existing two Lieutenant- Governorships." The Proclamation takes effect, in Wellington, on the Ist March, and in the other Provinces now established on and after the day of the receipt of a copy of it at the principal town of each Province. Consequently there isnow no longer a Lieutenant Governor of New Munster ; both the Province and its Lieutenant-Governor, by the operation of the law, have ceased to be, and are, politically speaking, consigned to the tomb of the Capulets.orany other receptacle of departed greatness which the imagination of the reader may suggest. We are not going to write their epitaph, nor does much require to be said about them on the occasion — Requiescant in pace. By the limits or boundaries of the Provinces as set forth in the Proclamation, it will be seen that the Province of Wellington extends to the Southern boundary of the Province of Auckland and the South East boundary of the Province of New Plymouth, #o as to include the settlement of Wanganm, and the districts of Ahuriri and Hawke's Bay. In due course we suppose the other details of the measure will follow, such as the appointment of electoral districts, the number of members of which the Provincial Councils shall consist, and the like provision with regard to the House of Representatives. After these preliminaries are duly settled, then the work of election will commence in good . earnest, and the different candidates for the honor of being elected representatives will no doubt shortly put forth their claims ' to the confi. fidence of the electors. When these have declared themselves openly, the settlers will be able to pronounce a decided opinion on their respective, merits, till then we should strongly caution them against pledging themselves to vote for any particular person. By this Proclamation the Middle Island is divided between the Provinces of Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago. It remains to be seen whether, since the Canterbury and Otago Associations are both defunct, the exclusive and objectionable system with regard to the disposal and management of the waste land which has operated as a bar to its sale and occupation in those provinces will be allowed any longer to continue, or whether one uniform system is to be established for the management of .the waste lands throughoutthese Islands. This question bceomes more important, from the fact that it is generally understood the minimum upset price of land per acre is to be reduced; so that if the Canterbury Association found themselves unable to sell any land at £3 per acre, or that of Otago to sell land at £2 per acre, with the upset price of land in the older settlements at £1 per acre, the position of those two last named settlements will be very much worse when the price of land is reduced. below the.former upset price.

A few Nelson papers have reached us by way of Port Cooper. In addition to the extracts we have made, the only items worth notice are a rumour of the discovery of Gold on January 22, to which there is no subsequent allusion, and which may therefore be classed with the other rumours of a similar nature that have been current in the Southern settlements. The report we alluded to in a former number, »that the Pakawau district on examination was found not to contain an available Coal Field, is confirmed.

Programme of the performance of the Band of the 65th Regt, at Thomdon Flat, on Friday • the 4th inst.: — 1. Orertore — Czaar and Zimmerman .... Lortzinp 2. Duet — Of fairy wand had I the power \ «,, -Maritana.... J-Waffac* 3. Welch QaadrUlei Jnllitn 4. Duet — Seid la rue le inutile— ll Cortaro Verdi 5. Peatl of Enfland Waltz JtUlitn 6. Review Galop Jullien 7. Garland Polka Kanig